The Prospect Champion

Lord Cragxan pointed his cane at Harim who had yet to get up. "You there!" The dark figure strode towards him. Harim held his breath hoping the Lord wouldn't kick the invisible body.

"Lord Cragxan…" The real Golden Brand tried to get his attention.

"Did I address you…No I did not, return to your post…" He glanced around, "All of you back to your duties." The spectating guards rushed off to continue their nightly watch. Lord Cragxan looked down at Harim. "To your feet."

He did not risk touching the body, he stood, looking Cragxan in the eyes. The right eye winked at him. That confused Harim. Cragxan stared at the fake Adresin. He squinted at Adresin then back to Harim, "Rothox, Harim…who is who." The voice was no longer deep but it sounded like Alissa.

"Ahhh, I'm sorry what?" Harim asked coming out of his confusion.

"Harim, it's me…it's Alissa. I disguised myself too." Hearing Alissa's voice coming out of Cragxan's serious visage was unsettling. "Where's…?"

"At my feet," Harim said.

"Okay, can you carry him?"

"Yes but it looks obvious."

"Well, then we better be quick. My anger scared most guards away but they'll be back. If we move now I can probably use my intimidating presence to keep curious eyes away."

Harim and Rothox bent down, grasping either end of the body while Alissa stood glaring at the entrance guard who refused to look directly at the powerful lord. They got the body to their shoulders and began to move off, quickly. Alissa waited for a half-second before following them. Every Brand that glanced over at the two men with their arms over their head, quickly looked away as Cragxan would stare into their souls. Once away from the entrance the torchlight dwindled and they disappeared into the darkness, over the small hill.

Before long they were back at the skyship. The others met them on the ground. Captain Sixx and Erigos' father were there as well.

"Alissa, you scared me. I thought for sure we were fucked." Harim said as he placed the body in the dirt.

"Hehe," she giggled. "I figured you might need some backup.

"How did you get your voice so deep?"

"Magic," she winked one last time as Lord Cragxan, waved the cane and reverted back to her female self and the cane turned into the Staff of Power.

"So where is the real Adresin?" Erigos asked while watching Rothox and Harim turn back to themselves.

"Right here." Rothox pulled the cloak's hood off the invisible man's head. Laying on the dirt was an unconscious Adresin Lutoris. "Help us get him onboard and below deck. With everyone's help, they managed to pull him up and carry him below deck. Even more impressive how Harim managed it by himself. They tied him up, left him, and went back up top.

Back in the cabin, they sat anxiously around the table. "Now we wait for morning and Erigos will be asked to take his place." Harim looked at Erigos. "You ready?"

"No turning back now."

Harim grabbed the ring on his finger and pulled it off and handed it to Erigos. "Figure you need it more than I do." As he pulled it off his body got extremely exhausted.

"Thanks." He slid the ring on and it changed the size to fit his hand. He felt a surge of energy. "Whoa, that's new." He flexed his fingers. "You barely even notice it's there."

"It will sense what your task is and aid you accordingly."

"I wonder…" Erigos thought aloud, grasped the handle of the lightning sword, and drew it from its sheath. The energy cracked but where it normally was an uncontrollable surge before settling it seemed to maintain itself, the ring glowing a similar blue. He swung the sword and the lightning energy surged through the sword and through Erigos. He ever so slightly floated off the ship, a crackling energy licking around his boots.

"How do you feel?" Harim asked as he stepped back from the electrical Erigos.

"Tingly," he laughed as if the energy tickled him. He swung the sword again, it buzzed with the arcane energy. He returned the sword to its home. "That will be useful."

Captain Sixx who had been sitting quietly leaned in. "That reminds me of how helionite reacts. What are they?"

"We aren't too sure, we just know they are old magic." Harim didn't want to give to much away.

"Okay now I'm curious, take this." Rothox handed the cloak.

"This too." Alissa passed over the staff.

Erigos removed his old cloak and dawned the relic. He grasped the staff in his left hand and drew the sword with his right once again. Each artifact glowed blue and for a moment nothing happened. Without warning a blue bubble surrounded Erigos, he floated into the air and blue magic erupted around him, held in by the bubble. Everyone thought something terrible had just happened until the magic faded and Erigos settled back onto the ship floor. His entire body shimmered, like he was a ghost, fading in and out of the ethereal and material plane.

Rothox reached out to touch him, his hand passed through the ghostly body. "Weird."

"Erigos try to hit this." Harim held up a wooden bowl from the table. Erigos moved rapidly and tapped it with the sword and it exploded into a dozen pieces from the energy that surged from the touch. "We can't interact with you but you can interact with your surroundings…This is amazing."

Erigos sheathed the sword and the swirl of energy faded and his body returned to a normal state. "What just happened? You were all moving so slowly."

"Time was sped up for you?"

"Exactly. Without doing anything the staff sped me up and the cloak made me impossible to hit. It was as if the ring bound the items together allowing them to work together as one. At least that's how it felt."

"Eri, you should wear it all for the Trial," Alissa said.

"She's right. If Garrok has the red armor then I don't see why you can't have the other artifacts."

"We still don't know how it all works and what if I lose, then Garrok has access to all the artifacts…"

"As you said, it's too late to turn back now." Harim stood from his chair. "Let's all get a good night's sleep, I'll keep watch just in case we were followed."

Rothox could see how tired he was. "Harim, I'll take watch, you need to sleep, losing the ring has brought your strength back to normal, it has caught up to you."

Harim would normally have argued but Rothox was right, he was struggling.

The next morning Erigos, as Luther, walked back to the coliseum, alone. There was no event today; the day before the Ascension Trial. He rounded the coliseum coming to a small crowd of Brand and Viviar nobles. One of the nobles noticed him enter the back of the crowd.

"Where have you been? We have been searching all over for you," Lord Helemeor pointed at him. The entire group turned to see who Lord Helemeor was addressing.

"Umm…"

"Oh never mind. We need to talk to you, now." The lord spun, his long cloak flared out behind him as he and the other lords shoved through the crowd, with the occasional 'Excuse me'. Erigos followed, the crowd moving out of his way, murmuring among themselves. He knew exactly why, it seemed their plan was working.

The door slammed shut behind him. He stood in one of the nobleman's estates, above the Champions but below the Emperor. Lord Elator Helemeor, a lord he didn't know, and an older elven man, General Lutoris were the three other people in the room with him.

"What did you do with my son?" General Lutoris snapped as soon as the door closed. He was frothing at the mouth. He reached to grab Erigos but a hand grabbed his elbow and held him back. Erigos didn't flinch.

"General Lutoris, contain yourself. Just because your son is missing does not mean it was Luther's fault. Just last night you two were arguing, maybe he left because of that." Lord Helemeor removed his hand from the General's arm, who shrugged it off at the same time and backed off, turning away angrily. "Well, now you are aware as to why we have called you here. Adresin Lutoris has gone missing and until he can be found you will become our Champion as our best prospect."

"So long as the Queen says," General Lutoris turned back around. "And our families go way back, she would rather see us forfeit than let a random, low born, fight for us." He eyed Erigos from toe to head.

"Of course, the Queen has to agree. If Adresin is not present by sun-up then you will be our Champion unless Queen Amalia decides not to participate.

Erigos pretended to be shocked, "What an honor it would be." He bowed.

"Wonderful, we shall inform the Queen."